India's sports goods exports can touch $8 billion in 10 years, says NITI Aayog report

India’s sports equipment export segment has the potential to jump from its current 0.5% global market share (with just $ 275 million worth of sports equipment exports in 2024) to an 11% export market share (worth $ 8.1 bn) and generate  about 54 lakh additional jobs in the sector by 2036, says a just released NITI Aayog report.

For this to happen, India should utilize the decade-long global sporting event cycle (including the Los Angeles Olympics 2028, Commonwealth Games 2030 in Ahmedabad, Brisbane Olympics 2032, and India’s planned bid to host the 2036 Olympic Games) opportunity for large-scale supply of sports equipment, it says.

“India’s ambition to host the 2036 Olympics must come with a strong emphasis on Make in India, as these games can act as a powerful demand anchor, boost MSMEs and provide global visibility. Leveraging this 10-year event-led demand can help Indian manufacturers integrate into international supply chains well ahead of the Olympic Games," the report said.

According to the report, the government’s recent policy momentum (including a dedicated allocation of ₹500 crore for sports goods manufacturing in Budget 2026, cluster revitalization, MSME scaling support, and institutional realignment under the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports) provides a foundation to address the constraints before this ambitious growth plan.

The report titled ‘Realising the Export Potential of India’s Sports Equipment Manufacturing Sector’, identifies raw material costs, land prices and certification costs as some of the supply side challenges and weak demand-side pull, branding constraints and structural market access barriers as the key demand side challenges to the growth of the sector.

Beyond immediate actions, the report talks about three key long-term solutions that are essential to trigger sustained growth. First, it wants the sector to have a cluster-led development approach involving four green field clusters in port-proximate locations/ states.

“This will require an outlay of ₹4,000 crore (for four new clusters). Readiness assessment of key states on parameters such as strong plug and play infrastructure, policy favourability, logistics infrastructure, and event-led tailwinds reveal that Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu can serve as initial prospects. Simultaneously, upgrading legacy clusters like Meerut and Jalandhar with ₹1,000 crore enables quick wins by modernizing infrastructure and scaling production in established ecosystems”, the report said.

It also wanted India to develop a strong testing infrastructure to help manufacturers reduce the costs associated with getting certified, as well as reduce lead times and boost innovation. Thirdly, it calls for the development of a domestic raw material ecosystem by anchoring critical upstream capacities in key advanced inputs (like carbon fiber or composites).

On the demand side, it wants a unified ‘Brand India’ framework to complement supply reforms with building global demand and credibility. “This requires a multi-stakeholder collaboration including anchor brand partnerships to create demand pull and transfer quality systems; federation engagement to improve representations in International Federation committees for securing approvals for major events; manufacturers adopting quality standards and compliance, and government led promotion through international trade fairs, buyer roadshows, and co-funding certifications and accredited testing labs within clusters”, the report said.

The report was prepared in partnership with Delhi based Foundation for Economic Development.